When Was Jesus Born, Baptized, and Buried? A Review of LDS and Non-LDS Educated Guesses Monte F. Shelley 18-Nov-09 Preliminary Draft Please send comments, questions, and suggestions to [email protected]. sΔp Summit View Publishing Orem, Utah © 2009 Monte F. Shelley All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the author. Summit View Publishing Orem, Utah 84097 www.SummitViewPublishing.com Preface i Table of Contents Preface ....................................................................................... iii Sources .................................................................................. iv Introduction ................................................................................ 1 Part I: REVIEW OF CHRONOLOGIES ................................... 3 1: Chronologies of Non-LDS Scholars .................................. 3 2: LDS Scriptures and Authorities ......................................... 5 3: Chronologies of LDS Scholars .......................................... 8 Part II: WHEN DID HEROD DIE? ......................................... 11 4: Lunar Eclipse Followed by Passover ............................... 13 5: Herod’s Successors .......................................................... 17 6: When did Herod Become King? ...................................... 21 7: How were Herod’s Years Counted?................................. 25 8: Herod Died Having Reigned 34/37 Years ....................... 35 Part III: BIRTH, BAPTISM AND BURIAL ........................... 39 9: Birth of Jesus .................................................................... 39 10: Baptism and Ministry of Jesus ....................................... 45 11: Death and Burial of Jesus............................................... 51 Part IV: BOOK OF MORMON ............................................... 63 12: Jesus Died in the 34th Year ............................................. 63 13: Lehi’s 600-Year Prophecy ............................................. 75 Part V: CONCLUSION ........................................................... 89 14: Summary and Conclusion .............................................. 89 APPENDICES ......................................................................... 93 Appendix A: The Jewish Calendar ...................................... 93 Appendix B: The Last Week of Jesus .................................. 99 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................. 115 Abbreviations ..................................................................... 115 Commentaries and Student Manuals .................................. 115 Books and Articles ............................................................. 116 ENDNOTES ........................................................................... 123 ii WHEN WAS JESUS BORN, BAPTIZED, AND BURIED? List of Tables Table 1: Lunar Eclipses (8 BC to 1 BC) ....................................... 3 Table 2: Non-LDS Chronologies ................................................ 4 Table 3: Statements by LDS Prophets and Apostles .................. 6 Table 4: April 6th Chronologies .................................................. 9 Table 5: New Testament Dates in Writings of LDS Authors ... 10 Table 6: Lunar Eclipses and Passovers (8 BC – AD 1) .............. 13 Table 7: Events between the Eclipse and Passover .................. 14 Table 8: Josephus’ References to Herod’s Regnal Years ......... 32 Table 9: Schürer’s Dates for Herod’s Regnal Years ................. 32 Table 10: Steinmann’s Dates for Herod’s Regnal Years .......... 33 Table 11: Herod’s 37th Regnal Year (de jure) .......................... 35 Table 12: Herod’s 37th Regnal Year (de facto) ......................... 36 Table 13: Augustus’ Reign in Rome (40th and 42nd Years) ...... 39 Table 14: Governors of Syria .................................................... 40 Table 15: The 15th Year of Tiberius’ Reign .............................. 45 Table 16: Jesus’ Age in 15th Year of Tiberius .......................... 46 Table 17: Passovers between Baptism and Crucifixion ............ 49 Table 18: Jerusalem (Thursday crucifixion) ............................. 54 Table 19: Jerusalem (Friday crucifixion) .................................. 54 Table 20: Crucifixion: Day of Week and Month ...................... 55 Table 21: Passover (AD 27–34) ................................................. 58 Table 22: Likely Crucifixion Years by Day ............................. 60 Table 23: Scholarly Opinions about Year of Crucifixion ......... 60 Table 24: Nephite-Year if Jesus was born in Dec/Jan .............. 68 Table 25: Nephite-Year if Jesus was born in April ................... 69 Table 26: Jesus’ Birth Date by Subtracting Year Lengths ........ 70 Table 27: Nephite-Year If Jesus Was Born April 6 .................. 70 Table 28: When Lehi Left by Subtracting Year Lengths .......... 77 Table 29: Chronology if Jehoiakim was Nephi’s Zedekiah ...... 84 Table 30: Name Changes .......................................................... 85 Table 31: Sunrise and Sunset Months ....................................... 98 Table 32: Six Days Before Passover ....................................... 100 Table 33: From Triumphal Entry to Resurrection .................. 107 Table 34: Last Week: Possible Dates...................................... 112 Preface iii Preface On my mission, I read Jesus the Christ by Elder James E. th Talmage (1915). He said Jesus was born on April 6 1 BC, baptized just before he turned 30 years old, and died after living 33 years and a few days. Since my mission, I have noticed that not all LDS leaders and scholars agree with Elder Talmage’s dates. Some LDS th scholars say Jesus was born on April 6 1 BC while others say he was born in 5/4 BC. Elder Hyrum Smith (1923) said “There are reasons for believing that … the Nativity occurred four years before our era [4 BC].” Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1979) said, “We do not believe it is possible with the present state of our knowledge … to state with finality” the year Jesus was born. Non-LDS scholars also differ on the year of the Nativity. Most say Jesus was born in 5/4 BC while others say he was born in 3/2 BC. In books for the general public, most scholars present their conclusions as fact with little or no discussion of the evidence and arguments. Even when some evidence and reasoning is presented, it is usually to support their conclusions. Opposing viewpoints are often ignored, misrepresented, or belittled. In academic articles, scholars seek to refute the arguments of others and defend their own. Examples of written ‘debates’ can be found in Chronos, Kairos, Christos (I and II). Other examples in the bibliography include Martin and Mosley vs. Johnson, Filmer vs. Barnes and Bernegger, Lefgren and Pratt vs. Brown, Griggs, and Hansen. I like these differences in opinion because when everybody thinks alike, nobody thinks very much. Opposing viewpoints draw attention to evidence and possible interpretations. I found a few books that reviewed the evidence and arguments for the conclusions of non-LDS scholars. However, I could not find a similar book that referenced LDS scholars. This past year I have been reviewing the evidence and arguments of LDS scholars who give dates for the birth, baptism, and burial of Jesus. As a iv WHEN WAS JESUS BORN, BAPTIZED, AND BURIED? result, I have also reviewed the writings of non-LDS scholars. I found this to be an interesting study and have decided to write this book to remember and share what I have learned. In this book, I have attempted to provide an accurate summary of the evidence and arguments for the differing conclusions of both LDS and non-LDS scholars. A conclusion is where I got tired of thinking. Sources Endnotes are provided for those who are interested in reading more. The bibliography lists sources referenced in the endnotes. In the text you will see references to scriptures. Bible references, unless otherwise noted, are from the King James Version. There are a few references to the New International Version (NIV) and the Revised Standard Version (RSV). You will also see references like the following: Citation Meaning (¶508) Paragraph 508 in Handbook of Biblical Chronology (by Jack Finegan, 1998 revised edition). (JD 15:253) Journal of Discourses, vol. 15, page 253 (Dio 48.28) Dio, Cassius (c. AD 156–229), The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert, (Ant 14.389 [14.14.5]) Josephus (c. AD 37–100), The Judaean Antiquities, book 14, sect. 8 or [book 14, chap. 14, sect. 5] (War 1.665 [1.33.8]) Josephus (c. AD 37–100), The Judaean War, book 14, sect. 8 or [book 14, chap. 14, sect. 5] References to the works of Josephus will be given using both the Niese and [Whiston] systems (e.g., Ant 14.389 [14.14.5]). An online version of Josephus in English and Greek is available at pace.cns.yorku.ca. An English translation of Dio Cassius is available at www.gutenberg.org. Introduction 1 Introduction To create a personal ancestral file, we are asked to record the name, birth date, baptism date, marriage date, and death date for each of our ancestors. We are also asked to identify our sources for the dates we record. These sources help other genealogists verify dates and resolve differences. Ideally, these sources would be birth, baptism, marriage, and death certificates or records based on eyewitness accounts recorded at or near the time of the event. Unfortunately, no birth, baptism,